 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2026-01-15 07:20
Weekly visits to the grocery store have caused me to be no stranger to sticker shock. However, when I opened a "sale" advertisement from a prominent online music store recently, I saw a certain brand of clarinet ligatures offered with prices ranging from $185 all the way to $446.
My question is this - can any of you HEAR or FEEL a difference in something like this when compared to less expensive gear? Does using gold plating really do anything positive for the sound of a ligature? There are so many variables in this process I just can't see how someone can get that much benefit from something like this. I would love to hear your opinions.
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2026-01-15 09:33
I tried quite a few ligatures back in the '70s, including string. I never noticed any real difference. My first Buffet ($250, 1971) probably cost less than what you mention for a ligature.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book-- Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: David H. Kinder
Date: 2026-01-15 10:37
The ligature is the least important, unless it's the primary constraint... then it's the biggest problem to solve. I felt that for a while until I got my Vandoren Optimum.
Some of this may be in creating products that are more aspirational than functional, especially when they have artist endorsements.
How many videos have you seen about clarinet equipment on YouTube that constantly equates more expensive = better? I think there's too many to count.
Take the Vandoren Carbon ligature - currently priced around $650. I know Julian Bliss plays it and I'm sure Martin Frost plays on it as well. There are others, but is it worth $650? I'm not convinced... but I am curious about it. I'm about 50 miles from the Vandoren LA studio, so I might give it a shot one day. I'm also curious to try the Silverstein Cryo4 ligature, the Vandoren leather, and Vandoren Klassik - primarily for curiosity, not that I feel the need for a change. Brad Behn also has a new 'screw' ligature that I'm also curious about.
I did a video that I'm writing an academic paper on for behavioral financial analysis regarding clarinet equipment reaffirming identity and artistry. Sometimes it's what the equipment represents that makes the difference not just what it is on its own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoJ6AH3SOmc
Ridenour AureA Bb clarinet
Ridenour Homage mouthpiece
Vandoren Optimum Silver ligature (plate 1)
Vandoren Traditional #5 reeds
ATG System and Cordier Reed Trimmer
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2026-01-15 20:10
>> I would love to hear your opinions. <<
Would you be able to if they are gold plated...?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2026-01-15 20:35
My opinions have changed quite a bit more recently. However, if you are asking if there are differences amongst ligatures in terms of sound irregardless of price the answer is yes.
It appears to me that the best contact (even pressure toward the top and bottom of the reed's bark along the sides) seems to yield the best results MOSTLY without much if any difference to the material (material is a big change for me lately). So, oddly the standard, old fashioned, two screw ligature that closes OVER the reed (non-inverted) is one of the best performers of all (Stanley Drucker was on to something!!!!). Beyond that, those that bind similarly (even some of the weird and expensive ones) can be pretty good. One thing to try, if you have a Rovner Dark (not a particularly good ligature in my opinion), would be to flip it around (screw on the left and closing over the reed). This configuration is actually pretty amazing!! You can just flip the rods to make it a permanent change......if you like it.
CAVEAT
The bottom line though why we DO NOT agree about much on this front is that the combination of the REED and the BARREL and the MOUTHPIECE make for a complete picture in terms of response and resonance. There is a group of ligatures I use as a "GO TO" but depending on the reed/mouthpiece/barrel the top on the list can change pretty dramatically.
I use plastic reeds (Legere) so I don't have the variability issues that exist with cane.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: kilo
Date: 2026-01-15 22:53
I really don't object to professional clarinetists using particular products and endorsing them. And if a company has developed a new accessory and wants to get good publicity by offering the product to a professional who agrees to use it, well, those sorts of arrangements are understandable from a business perspective, on both sides.
Occasionally you'll see an artist using a different product after having already been featured as some "name-brand" player. (I remember when it seemed that all the big sax players were endorsing Keilwerths, which I'm sure are good horns but you don't hear that much about them anymore – correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't get out that much). But you never see any pros or manufacturers disassociating themselves from their previous endorsements!
I just wish equipment upgrades weren't so commonly seen by developing players as the key to improvement. So much good clarinet music has been made by people playing well-made two-screw metal ligatures with orange box Rico reeds.
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